Can’t Fight Pride: Why Renew Europe will join the Budapest Pride

A delegation of Renew Europe MEPs will march in the Budapest Pride tomorrow in support of the Hungarians protecting their rights and freedoms… As well as ours.

Anyone should be deeply concerned about recent events in Hungary. Every week, the right of assembly is further undermined, freedom of speech is hollowed out, civil society is increasingly under pressure and the very fundamentals of democracy are now under threat. The banning of the Budapest Pride, together with the official approval for counterdemonstrations by the extreme right, is just the latest example.

It is symptomatic of a regime turning against EU rights and values, says Renew Europe President MEP Valérie Hayer, who will join the march tomorrow:
‘When a government silences Pride, it silences freedom itself. We are in Budapest to show Renew Europe stands unshaken against any blatant attack on civil liberties on our soil. And we will fight to do the same in Brussels: The EU must act now — finally — to protect peaceful assembly, defend LGBTQ rights, and hold Hungary accountable for undermining our shared democratic values. Europe can no longer be complicit through non-action.’

MEP Fabienne Keller (Renaissance, France) adds:
‘We were there in Budapest in 2021, and we are back today in 2025. In four years, conditions for LGBTQ+ people, associations, journalists and civil society as a whole have deteriorated. It's now time for Europe to take stronger action against Viktor Orban's regime!’

MP Katalin Cseh (Momentum, Hungary) concludes:
‘The banning of Budapest Pride is not an isolated attack — it is part of a broader assault on fundamental rights. As a Hungarian, I see this happening in my own country. As a European, I cannot accept it. That’s why we march — not just in solidarity with the LGBTQ community, but in defense of the values that bind us together as Europeans.’

This afternoon at 16:15 MEP Fabienne Keller and MP Katalin Cseh will hold a press conference from Budapest, streamed live here.

The delegation consists of the following MEPs: Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová, Valérie Hayer, Fabienne Keller, Moritz Körner, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, Hilde Vautmans, Yvan Verougstraete, Emma Wiesner and Lucia Yar.